The role of loneliness and learning burnout in the regulation of physical exercise on internet addiction in Chinese college students

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mediating effects of physical exercise on internet addiction in Chinese college students and to reveal the mediating effects of loneliness and learning burnout on physical exercise and internet addiction. METHODS: 1238 Chinese college students were investigated by physical exercise scale, loneliness scale, learning burnout scale, and internet addiction scale. The SPSS 27.0 was used to conduct a correlation analysis of the data and AMOS21.0 was used to establish a structural equation model to investigate the mediation effect. RESULTS: Physical exercise could directly negatively predict the internet addiction of college students. Loneliness and learning burnout partially mediate the relationship between physical exercise and internet addiction, and the mediating pathways included “physical exercise-loneliness-internet addiction”, “physical exercise-learning burnout-internet addiction”, and “physical exercise-loneliness-learning burnout-internet addiction”, accounting for 9.38%, 15.63% and 21.88% of the total effect, respectively. In the chain mediation effect, it was mainly the loneliness and sub-dimensions of learning burnout (low mood, misbehavior) that were at play. CONCLUSION: Physical exercise not only directly affects internet addiction of college students but also indirectly affects internet addiction through the independent mediating effect of loneliness and learning burnout and the chain mediating effect of “loneliness-learning burnout”.